Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam : politics, culture, and citizenship in the age of globalization / edited by Nezar AlSayyad and Manuel Castells.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Five centuries after the expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain, Europe is once again becoming a land of Islam. At the beginning of a new millennium, and in an era marked as one of globalization, Europe continues to wrestle with the issue of national identity, especially in the context of its Muslim citizens. Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam brings together distinguished scholars from Europe, the United States, and the Middle East in a dynamic discussion about the Muslim populations living in Europe and about Europe's role in framing Islam today. The book raises several crucial questions: Does Islam offer a special case for citizenship? Is assimilation or multiculturalism the model to be followed in the case of Muslims in Europe? How powerful a force is Islam in determining identity? And why is Islam--after centuries of being a presence in Europe--not considered a European religion? Working at the knotty intersection of cultural identity, the politics of nations and nationalisms, and religious persuasions, this is an invaluable anthology of scholarship that reveals the multifaceted natures of both Europe and Islam.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

These essays by European, American, and Middle Eastern scholars representing sociology, international studies, and other perspectives pose important questions about the roles of 24,000,000 European Muslims both in redefining European nationalities and European unity and in the constriction of Euro-Islamic identities. While the essays prove provocative, their origin as symposium papers also means repetition and some omissions that frustrate wider systematic discussion. For example, both in specialized pieces and in general references, the volume privileges numbers and policies regarding ethnically differentiated Muslims in Germany, France, and England over large, historic populations in the Balkans (8,000,000 Muslims) or recent migrations in Spain, Italy, and other parts of Europe that also influence "Europeanness." The book focuses on nations, policy, and law without developing corollary implications of culture and experience (Holub's analysis of European intellectuals and Islam is an exception). Some of the most exciting essays recast Euro-Islamic issues from the perspective of a Muslim diaspora rather than through European assimilation (Lubeck, Mustafa). The book is certainly of real interest to students of Europe and Islam alike, but one regrets opportunities missed among the intersections and implications of these essays. Upper-division undergraduates and above. G. W. McDonogh Bryn Mawr College